Cheesemaker, farmer, and clinical psychologist Tamara Jo Hicks is likely to be spotted in the small town of Tomales in West Marin, 60 miles north of San Fransisco’s Bay Bridge. She and her husband run the beautiful Toluma Farms & Tomales Farmstead Creamery, producing award-winning cheese and working to build a healthy community and a healthy ecosystem. Across the Bay, they run Daily Driver, a beloved local bagel business with an on-site creamery. We talked to Tamara about growing up in Oklahoma, her great-grandmother’s chocolate cake, and the art of making cheeseboards.

Farmer, CheesemakerClemence PolesApril 2, 2024Reality Bites, California, Marin CountyComment

Reality Bites with Lexie Smith

Lexie Smith is an artist and baker presently based in upstate New York who spends a lot of time researching, thinking about, and making bread. She runs the online resource center Bread on Earth, which explores bread’s “potential as a social, political, economic, and ecological barometer.” In this interview, she shares her favorite spots for pastries, bagels, and loaves in New York City, as well as a variety of books and resources for learning more about bread and grains.

Artist, BakerClemence PolesNovember 18, 2023Reality Bites, NYC, AncramdaleComment

Reality Bites with Maddi Bragg

Maddi Bragg’s first foray into the professional food world was as a sous-chef during a social media break — a necessary step back for the YouTube phenomenon with 1.1 M subscribers. In this conversation, she elaborates on seasonal shopping, leaving home and supporting herself at 16, and her desert island cooking essentials.

Content Creator, ChefClaire BrodkaSeptember 13, 2022Reality Bites, LA, West HollywoodComment

Reality Bites with Fiorella Valdesolo

As a writer and editor for the likes of Travel + Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, or Vogue, and co-founder of James Beard award-winning food magazine Gather Journal, Fiorella Valdesolo can look back at years of powerful epicurean storytelling. In this conversation, she elaborates on her two-breakfast routine, the NYT cooking app’s comments section, and why we should all eat more kraut.

Writer, EditorClaire BrodkaAugust 16, 2022Reality Bites, NYC, Carroll GardensComment

Reality Bites with Alexis Badiyi

Whether it comes to food or fashion, a certain mindfulness and elegance marks all Alexis Badiyi touches — this is evidenced by the graceful photoshoots she’s styled for the likes of Marc Jacobs or Coveteur, or the thoughtfully arranged and deliciously appealing meals she’s captured for this interview. Naturally, as a stylist by trade, she’s often found on set, or otherwise, in her own space “shooting, shopping, styling, and creating decks.” To recharge and “refill [her] inspiration,” Alexis frequents museums, soaks up nature’s sun, and dines with friends. Here, she chats about slow mornings, the vibrant family for whom food was a love language, and more.

StylistClemence PolesMay 10, 2022Reality Bites, NYC, Clinton HillComment

Reality Bites with Mina Stone

Chef, cookbook author, and mother Mina Stone made a name for herself as an artist and art lover's chef—first by cooking gallery dinners for Urs Fischer and others in the New York art scene.

Chef, EntrepreneurClemence PolesFebruary 13, 2022Reality Bites, NYCComment

Reality Bites with Maria Geyman

Naturopath, EntrepreneurClemence PolesJuly 11, 2021Reality Bites, NYCComment

Reality Bites with Tonya Papanikolov

Along with being the founder of Rainbo—a medicinal mushroom based line of supplements and functional foods—Tonya Papanikolov is a Holistic Nutritionist, educator, cook, and yogi who lives in Toronto. Her work in mycotherapy builds from her platform as an educator on holistic health, nutrition, and healing through food as The Well Woman, and years spent foraging mushrooms in the Canadian forests. In this interview, she lets us in on her life, kitchen, and camera roll—proving that plant-based foods can be both extraordinarily pretty and delicious.

Holistic NutritionistClemence PolesJune 12, 2021Reality Bites, TorontoComment

Reality Bites with Claudia Serrato

For Claudia Serrato, food goes hand in hand with community. And her knowledge runs deep— she is a culinary anthropologist, decorated and public scholar, professor, chef, and womb ecologist. Her understanding of Indigenous cooking and cuisine across the United States informs her work as a Co-Founder of Across Our Kitchen Tables, a culinary hub for gender-non-conforming individuals and women of color. We caught up with her on how she brings intention into each day and reveled in her undying love for all that food can do.

Culinary AnthropologistClemence PolesApril 18, 2021Reality Bites, Tongva, LA Comment

Reality Bites with Julia Turshen

As a chef and cookbook author Julia Turshen has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to sharing ideas for home-cooking that are approachable, accessible, and delicious. Her brand new book Simply Julia, proves to be no exception. But more than that, Julia’s work actively combats the racial and gender-based discrimination that’s long riddled the food industry—she’s the founder of Equity At The Table (EATT), a digital directory that “builds a longer table” for women, non-binary individuals, and people of color working in food. Read on for a peek into the life she’s forged in the Hudson Valley.

ChefClemence PolesMarch 6, 2021Reality Bites, NYCComment

Reality Bites with Christina Crawford

Christina Crawford has a storied history in food—from working in West Coast restaurants as a teen to cutting her teeth at Chez Pannise to leading food innovation at a coffee roaster in Kenya. Now, Christina is taking the fermentation world by storm as the founder of TART, where she ferments small batch traditional double-fermented vinegar.

ChefClemence PolesFebruary 6, 2021Reality Bites, NYCComment

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